Barnby Dun Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enter the pre-school with confidence and follow the daily routine to wash their hands before entering the main playroom. Staff confirm this is a continued precaution to maintain their good health and safety following the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff place emphasis on supporting children's social, communication and physical skills. This is because they recognise the impact the pandemic has had on these areas of learning.

Children enjoy playing outside. Staff have redeveloped the outdoor environment to support children's all-round development. There is a designated area for children to develop their gross motor skills as they learn to climb or ride on wheel toys. There are other areas where children can sit and engage in small world or construction play, developing their imagination. Children also have fun using paint brushes and water to make marks on the floors and walls as well as using chalks on the blackboard. This helps children to develop their fine manipulative skills.

Children feel settled and secure in the care of staff. Staff plan the environment, so that children have opportunities to engage in an interesting range of learning experiences. Children socialise with their peers as they become engrossed in their chosen play experiences. Staff model, question and provide a narrative as they join children in their play. This provides challenge and creates purposeful learning experiences, which build on children's prior knowledge and skills.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Children are supported to develop their vocabulary as staff repeat words and discuss with children what they are doing. They also ask questions to support children's conversation skills. Pre-school children are also supported to learn some basic phonic sounds in preparation for starting school.
• Large-group activities are planned to support children's listening and attention skills. Children are split into two groups for these activities and pre-school children engage well in their planned activity. They sit, listen intently and respond as the activity is delivered at their level of ability. However, because there are more children in the younger group who have varying abilities, the specific activity for these children is not so well planned and delivered. While children remain at the activity, some of them are not fully focused or actively engaged.
• Staff plan interesting practical learning experiences to support children's mathematical awareness. Children enjoy catching ducks in nets and identifying the numbers printed on each duck. The activity is successfully differentiated for children who are unable to recognise the numerals. These children are encouraged to count the number of dots on each duck to identify what the number is.
• Children are supported to learn about growth and decay as they plant and care for a range of fruit and vegetables. It also supports children's awareness of healthy eating.
• Children's independence skills are promoted well in some areas. For example, staff talk to parents and support them through the potty training process with their children. As children then grow and develop, they are encouraged to learn to go to the toilet independently. However, at other times staff do things for the children, like wiping their nose when they can do this for themselves. Children currently drink from a beaker, which does not effectively support them to learn how to drink from an open topped cup with increasing independence and skill.
• The manager ensures funding is used wisely to support individual children's learning. This ensures it has a positive impact on children's development. For children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and those in need of extra support, personalised learning plans are developed. However, these individualised targets are not always consistently implemented throughout the session, to fully ensure SEND children remain engaged in purposeful play.
• Effective links are created with the local school, supporting a smooth transition when it is time for children to move on to school. Children visit the local school and teaching staff come into the pre-school to meet the children. This enables children to build a relationship with the teaching staff and to become familiar with the school environment before they start school.
• Parents confirm that they feel their children are safe and well cared for at pre-school. They explain how information is shared with them and how they are encouraged to support their children's learning at home. Parents confirm that their children have learned a range of skills since attending pre-school.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• review how group activities are structured and delivered, so that they consistently build on children's attention and concentration skills
• help staff to consistently support children's growing independence
• support staff to consistently implement the agreed targets set for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities throughout the session.